Linda Jackson, CanadaÃ¢â‚¬Å¡s top-ranked female road cyclist has announced that she will be leaving cycling to compete on the lucrative snowboard circuit. In a press release from her new sponsor Syncros (the Canadian components company who moved into snowboards last year), Jackson said: Ã¢â‚¬Å¾it was time for a change. I have accomplished many of the things that I hoped to in cycling, and the opportunities open to me in snowboarding were too good to pass over.Ã¢â‚¬Â°

Jackson said that she will honour her commitments to her cycling sponsors for the remainder of the season, before relocating to Whistler, B.C. to live and train with Olympic gold medallist Ross Rebagliatti.

Canadian Cyclist Launches New Service

In response to demands from U.S. readers, Canadian Cyclist will be launching American Cyclist Online by mid-summer. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾We have had so many requests from American cyclists for us to do a U.S. version of our current service, that we decided to take the plunge.Ã¢â‚¬Â°, said publisher Tracy Harkness. The service will feature the same Daily News, Forums, Calendars, etc. areas that have made CC Online so popular with Canadian cycling enthusiasts. Plans are under way to clone the editor.

Men Ask for Equal Prizes

In a bizarre twist, B.C. male riders are protesting over receiving smaller prize lists than women. Apparently, womenÃ¢â‚¬Å¡s fields have increased so dramatically (with as many as 200 women showing up at the staring line for a recent event), that organizers are reversing the traditional prize split to give the bulk of prize money to women. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾It only stands to reasonÃ¢â‚¬Â°, said one race organizer. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Without the numbers (from the womenÃ¢â‚¬Å¡s field) I wouldnÃ¢â‚¬Å¡t be able to put any events on.Ã¢â‚¬Â°

In a related story, Ontario road race organizers are planning to pay racers to enter their events. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾We had to do something to stop the steady drain of riders away from our sportÃ¢â‚¬Â°, said organizer spokesperson Valerie Davidge. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾If we donÃ¢â‚¬Å¡t do something, road racing could die in OntarioÃ¢â‚¬Â° Other provinces are watching the experiment with interest, and the road organizers are working on other promotions, including recruiting expeditions to B.C.

CC Takes Over CCA

As part of its ever growing empire, Canadian Cyclist has concluded an agreement to buy the Canadian Cycling Association, and run it as a private company. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾We decided that it made sense to tie together all facets of the news and cycling industry in CanadaÃ¢â‚¬Â°, said publisher, and Bill Gates wannabe Tracy Harkness. Ã¢â‚¬Å¾CC sees many opportunities for growth in the CCA, but the first task will be to move the office to our world headquarters in Paris, Ontario.Ã¢â‚¬Â° A second clone of the editor is planned.